Prep: Firstly peel, core and slice the baking apples.
Microwave or stew them with sugar to sweeten.
Allow to cool.
Mix the breadcrumbs (if using white bread put it in a food processor to make breadcrumbs).
Stir in the demerara sugar and pinch of cinnamon.
In the frying pan, melt the butter and add the crumbs and sugar.
Stir all the time until the crumbs are golden and crisp.
Tip onto a baking tray to cool.
In your serving dishes layer up the stewed apple and then fried breadcrumbs
Keep going until you reach near the top of the serving dish. Finish with a thicker layer of the breadcrumbs.
Chill. Serve with crème fraiche.

This is a tasty way to use stewed apple to make a dessert. Stale bread can be used to make the toasted crumbs, so this dish is seasonal and uses left-overs.

Cooks Know How: Stewing fruit reduces the bulk of the fruit and softens the structure. Sugar brings out the flavour of the apples. Frying the breadcrumbs causes the starch in the bread to dextrinise (toast). This makes the flavour sweeter and the sugar also caramelises as the breadcrumbs fry. Keep the temperature gently enough not to burn and cook the breadcrumbs until they turn a rich golden brown.
Serve this chilled.

Next Time

Use stewed apricots or plums to give different colour and flavour to this dessert. You can add more cinnamon if you want to increase the spicy flavour.